Mr. Scot

The Stafford deal... Just weeks into the job, Fitterer almost pulled off a massive coup, working the phones with Lions general manager Brad Holmes to try to secure Stafford via trade, then meeting with Holmes' staff in Mobile, Alabama, during Senior Bowl week in January. The Panthers made a compelling offer for Stafford that included the eighth overall pick in that year's draft. Fitterer and Holmes talked on the field pregame and were close on a deal, per a Carolina front office source, with the Lions sending over medical records of Stafford's previous back injury. Multiple Carolina assistant coaches say they boarded the team plane at the conclusion of the Senior Bowl thinking they had gotten Stafford. By the time they landed in Charlotte, word had leaked that Stafford was bound for the Los Angeles Rams. Fitterer called Holmes, who apologized and said the L.A. deal came together quickly.

Tepper's adjustment to the football world... In the winter of 2021, less than three years into his tenure, Tepper was discovering success in pro football was more elusive. Teams were lucky to hit on three picks in the draft. Free agent acquisitions sometimes didn't work out. The reality didn't sit well with Tepper, according to a front office source. "He expects football guys to be 100% right, like they are evaluating a balance sheet, and sometimes they are flat-out wrong," the source said.

Bridgewater... By the time the draft arrived, Carolina had already executed on a QB plan that team sources say started and ended with veteran Teddy Bridgewater. Bridgewater, who had worked with new Carolina offensive coordinator Joe Brady when he was a Saints offensive assistant in 2018, had played well in a five-game stretch relieving injured starter Drew Brees in 2019 and was an unrestricted free agent. Competition for Bridgewater's free agent services was fierce, and despite the presence of both Tom Brady and former NC State star Philip Rivers in the free agent market, the Panthers were fixated on Bridgewater. He was considered a prime option for Tampa Bay if the Bucs struck out on Brady. As they did with Rhule's deal, the Panthers aggressively secured Bridgewater with a three-year, $63-million contract. Signing Bridgewater was viewed within the industry and within the team as a sensible move, a bridge to a long-term solution, allowing the offense to function in a transitional year while rebuilding other areas of the team through the draft. The faction of the organization that was against drafting Herbert received what might have seemed like vindication in Week 3 of the 2020 season, when Bridgewater and the Panthers defeated Herbert and the Chargers in Los Angeles -- Rhule's first NFL win. But behind the scenes, a few of the scouts that had pushed for Herbert squirmed as they watched the 22-year-old throw for 330 yards, showing the poise and command of an offense they believed could have stabilized the position for a decade or more. Even as Carolina celebrated the win, one scout remembers texting another: "Man, we were right." Herbert would win NFL Rookie of the Year. Bridgewater would win four more games before being traded to the Denver Broncos in exchange for a sixth-round draft choice on the eve of the 2021 draft, earning $31 million for one season in Carolina -- $24 million during the season and another $7 million to go away.

Herbert... A scouting department source said it ranked LSU's Joe Burrow the top quarterback in the draft, with Oregon's Justin Herbert a close second and Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa third. Longtime NFL scout Donnie Warren, who was let go by Carolina before that year's draft and joined Ron Rivera in Washington for two years before retiring, confirmed Hurney "loved" Herbert and mentioned numerous times that he was high on his potential. "[Rhule] knew where we stood, that this [draft] was a chance to get a long-term solution at the position," the scouting source said. "Not having a full evaluation process and staff meetings due to COVID could have affected that process. We weren't meeting in person." The scouting department did enough legwork on Herbert to know the other teams that might also be in pursuit. There was a sense of what it would take to move from their No. 7 selection to the New York Giants' spot at No. 4, jumping the Miami Dolphins (No. 5) and Los Angeles Chargers (No. 6), who were believed to be locked on quarterbacks. Then-Giants general manager Dave Gettleman was a longtime Panthers executive with existing relationships in the building. A trade seemed plausible, but would not be pursued. Though Carolina's scouts wanted Herbert, a Panthers front office source said there was concern that trading draft capital to make it happen could hurt other areas of the team.

Summing up the disaster... The ousted Rhule and fourth-year Panthers owner David Tepper have shouldered much of the blame for the franchise's downturn, and all threads of Carolina's unraveling lead back to the choices made at one position -- quarterback. The Panthers' instability and dubious decision-making, which sometimes included disagreements among ownership, the coaching staff and front office, highlight the direct connection between quarterback play and franchise strength. In all, five quarterbacks started for Rhule -- the coach handpicked by Tepper in January 2020 and given control of the roster along with a seven-year, $62 million contract -- a revolving door reflecting organizational efforts to locate a top passer that ultimately failed. "They shot for the stars," a veteran NFL coach and former Rhule staffer said. "They ended up with Teddy [Bridgewater], Sam [Darnold] and Baker." Those with inside knowledge of the Panthers' three-season signal-caller saga paint a picture of bad deals, for the wrong quarterbacks, decided upon in large part by Rhule -- who proved to be the wrong coach.

Opening paragraphs regarding the tone of practice the week before Rhule was fired... In the final week of Matt Rhule's 33-month tenure as a first-time NFL head coach, his Carolina Panthers took the practice field situated in the shadow of Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium for what should have been routine 7-on-7 work. Routine would have been good. This was something worse, a scene of uninspired football borne partially if not totally of harsh roster realities. Overthrown passes. Turnovers. Mistimed routes. Rhule and his coaching staff looked on, standing oddly quiet. Panthers players appeared restless, the stress of a bad start palpable and "very heavy," as a team source described. Perhaps, in the grim prelude to a 37-15 home loss to the San Francisco 49ers that would send Carolina to 1-4 before a sea of empty seats, the entire organization had become resigned to its fate. This team can't win without a quarterback.

I do. I'll post some excerpts...

Traded up to get him... Would have been our first round pick had Burns not fallen to us... Oy

Side Note...

Okay that was funny

And way less pressure...

I think Greg Olsen could do it but I get the sense he'd rather do what he's already doing.

Looked at the title, thought it said "sell me the Huddle logo" and thought to myself, "Didn't know we had one"

Nor would you. That's called being professional.

But only one win...

Hence why someone like Alex Van Pelt can be a good coach. Steve Smith? Not so much

Yeah. I think most of us would probably like to be in that role. I'm sure I could be terrible at something in return for millions of dollars.

It's not that hard to believe. I've seen plenty of draft classes not produce any great quarterbacks, even ones that were thought to be good.

Person confirmed that the quarterback decisions were all made by Rhule.

I'm speaking in generalities.

I get that, but if I had to choose between the two I'd rather have the smart personnel people than I would the advantageous draft position. Having the right people drafting is a good thing regardless of where you are. Having the top draft pick though means a whole lot less if your personnel people don't know what they're doing.

That depends pretty heavily on the team. Some teams could draft #1 overall and still pick a bust. Others can draft at #32 and find a superstar.

Not sure anybody beats Chase Daniel on that front.

I would say this, historically speaking... I've seen a lot of cases over the years where players supported their interim coach getting the full-time job. Can't say I remember many of them succeeding. Certainly there have been a few, but more often than not it's an uphill battle that ends in failure. Wilks could be one of those rare exceptions, but they're rare for a reason.

Well here's an actual trade, but it's not us...